gringa musings from a rooftop terrace in Oaxaca

Theft, of the cultural kind

High in the mountains of the Sierra Norte, the village of Santa María Tlahuitoltepec sits perched on a ridge top in Oaxaca’s Mixe region. The terrain is rugged and unforgiving; it took rescue crews ten hours, much of it on foot, to reach the municipality following a lethal mudslide at the end of an extremely wet 2012 rainy season. Eight months later, in May of 2013, when blogger buddy Chris and I ventured up there for their Fiesta de Mayo, we still had to detour around the remains of the slide.

In addition to the musical talents of its residents, the village is known for the intricately embroidered blouses the women make and wear. The design of both the cut of the blouse and the patterns of embroidery are uniquely Santa María Tlahuitoltepec. If you see someone wearing one on the streets of Oaxaca, you know immediately where it came from. I have a blouse and Chris bought a couple to decorate the walls of his house.

Santa María Tlahuitoltepec, May 11, 2013.

However, in January of this year Oaxaqueña singer Susana Harp raised the alarm when she tweeted her outrage that the exclusive US department store Neiman Marcus was selling identical copies of the blouses of Santa María Tlahuitoltepec for $290 US dollars (six times what the originals cost in Oaxaca) — without even an acknowledgement of the origin of the designs. And, last week ReMezcla (a digital publisher, creative agency, and entertainment company targeting Latino millenials) took up the issue of this kind of cultural appropriation with it’s article, The $290 Isabel Marant Huipil Rip Off That Pissed Off Oaxaca’s Mixe Community noting that, “In the case of Isabel Marant’s new ‘bohemian’ Étoile line, however, it’s hard to even muster a flimsy cultural inspiration defense, since the Oaxacan Mixe culture the clothes were ‘inspired’ by have been completely erased from the narrative.”

I urge you to forgo these and other high-priced knock-offs. Instead, go to the source and buy originals from the talented artisans who created them. And, a note to ReMezcla, especially given the subject of your article, I would have appreciated credit for your use of my photograph (above) from the Guelaguetza desfile, that I originally posted July 22, 2013.

Update: A press conference by municipal authorities and embroiderers from Santa María Tlahuitoltepec was held on June 3 at at the Textile Museum of Oaxaca protesting the lack of respect by Isabel Marant for the creativity and work by the women of Tlahuitoltepec and the history and worldview that gave birth to their designs.

Connie, probably not. Contact information for that kind of complaint is not evident on their website and I don’t have the time to research it further, nor do I have the confidence they would even care, as I’m not a member of their target market. I can’t believe they are not aware of the uproar and wouldn’t be surprised to learn Susana Harp did contact them.

Everyone ‘rips off’ everyone else in the name of fashion. It’s nothing new – but I think that Susana Harp mis-represented the problem – which was that the Mixe made the garments – and that they were upset that no credit was given the makers and the culture.
Not to be a devil’s advocate – but I think there is probably a LOT more to the story. Perhaps one of the coops that made them wasn’t paid enough for their work – or perhaps another group didn’t get the contract and so there are hard feelings and politics involved. Not unusual among artisan groups.
If intact the Mixe’s were the makers, what was their agreement with the designer ?- and is she a ‘fair-trade’ company – giving credit where credit is due for the source of the design. (apparently not!)
Remember that this Mixe blouse/shirt is a garment inspired by contemporary fashion – but their machine embroidery patterns are definitely unique to them. Many other Mixe’s wear simple white huipiles with a little red trim around the neck. So actually where did this blouse come from in the first place?
This story has been changed and sensationalized etc etc.
Let’s go ask the Mixes what the real story is….
and if you want the real-deal come to Oaxaca and buy one…!!!!

Sheri, I’m not so sure the garments were Mixe made. According to this article , they were made in India. In addition, I couldn’t find anything that indicates the designer runs a “fair-trade” company and, in fact, Rank-a-Brand gives it a zero rating. Yes, everyone rips off everyone in the fashion industry, but that’s not an excuse for appropriating the designs of indigenous communities without even acknowledging the inspiration for the designs, let alone not paying them a dime/peso. They count on marginalized communities not having a voice, so the deception and misrepresentation of talent by these “designers” remains concealed.

Sheri, I’ve added an update re a press conference by officials from the Tlahui community that explains what this kind of cultural appropriation means, the disrespect it demonstrates, and calling on the Mexican government to defend the cultural identity and heritage of its indigenous populations.

Just read your article about the dress rip off and I sent the following
email to the company selling the dress and the company making the dress:

Really, how sad a company like yours would carry a dress for $365 that has a
design ripped off from a Mixe cultural group from a mountain village outside
of Oaxaca Mexico. The people of Santa María Tlahuitoltepec probably get
nothing for their style and tradition from you. I know the design of their
blouses are not trademarked, thus anyone can copy their design, but at least
some $ from the sale of your item should be earmarked for this village. Do
the right thing and be responsible for others less fortunate than us.

You can find email links to the companies by clicking on the links in the original article posted by Spixl.

This issue is pervasive and I hope that enough public outrage is stirred so that a major newspaper such as the New York Times covers it. This might serve to put other designers on alert around the world who do the same on every continent. Thanks for such a fine, respectful article. I hope to go there sooon.

ReMexcla strikes me as a sketchy guy. He defended the rip off by, in effect, defending the capitalist transgressors. To this purpose he diappointedly played fast and loose with facts rather than intuitively feeling support for the villagers.

Susana Harp actually says the blouses are “identical” – who is to say that their buyer didn’t just buy them at the markets in some other part of Oaxaca? In that case the village would have profited from it. I travel to central Oaxaca and buy many different gorgeous hand made blouses and we credit which villages they are from. If Neiman Marcus doesn’t mention it it’s a missed marketing opportunity not a crime. Neiman Marcus does not have a factory – they have buyers. Or is this about the money and how the fashion industry has a mark up? Don’t make me laugh – you should go to Tulum and see them mark up to 400- 500% – because their market of New Yorkers can handle it. Definitely more to this story….

According to one of the articles, the copied blouses were made in India. I’ve added an update re a press conference by officials from the Tlahui community that explains what this kind of cultural appropriation means, the disrespect it demonstrates, and calling on the Mexican government to defend the cultural identity and heritage of its indigenous populations.

I know what you mean! I wish I’d brought mine on this trip, so I could wear it into Neiman Marcus with a sign on it saying, “THIS is an original from Santa María Tlahuitoltepec, made by the women of Tlahuitoltepec, and costing less than $50 (US).”

Does anybody know who, specifically, designs and manufactures the actual outfits worn by the women of Tlahuitoltepec? Are the blouses worn by the women of Tlahui actually made in Tlahui or do they come from outside?

They are made by the women of Tlahuitoltepec; I’ve talked with several of them, both at various expo-ventas in the city of Oaxaca and up in the village. Take a look at the links to the press conference that I just posted. If you don’t read Spanish, run the text through a translator for an understanding of the designs, meaning, and origins.

Let’s not think this is only happening in this village of Oaxaca. Everyday copies of the crafts and art forms indigenous to Oaxaca flood not only that city, but the rest of the world.

Cheap copies, great copies, theft of ideas, etc. It’s all about not respecting the original artist/maker and being, in many cases, unwilling to compensate them for their time and creativity at fait market value.

The way I see this, no harm has been done to anyone. Tempest in a teapot.
The controversy was started by Susana Harp, neice of Mexican/Oaxacan zillionaire, Alfredo Harp Helú. Whilst in Las Vegas in January she noticed the blouse in question on sale in Neiman Marcus. “Estaba en las Vegas con mi esposo en Neiman Marcus cuando vi el huipil. Al principio me emocioné, porque no sabía que la tienda era sólamente para ropa de diseñador y me pareció maravilloso que vendieran un diseño mixe en un tienda como esa. Cuando me acerqué vi la etiqueta y subí la foto a Twitter.”
Before Susana Harp let them know, the people of Tlahui were unaware. She has since been fanning the flames, convincing the authorities in Tlahui that they should do something about it. All the while keeping her name in the headlines. The most recent evento was the “‘press conference” held at the Oaxaca Textile Museum operated by Susana’s Uncle Alfredo’s Fundación Alfredo Harp Helú. The people of Tlahui are intentionally being embroiled in a controversy not of their own making and which will avail them little.

As Juan Sandoval commented on facebook
I don’t know what to say. Throughout the centuries artists, etc. have been borrowing from other cultures. Artists and graphic designers do it all the time. Even “sacred” mole can be traced to the influence of the spices used in the curries of India and the middle east. Everyone borrows from everyone–this a common truth. In the sciences, research builds upon previous research. Take a look at Mexican folk dance and you will find, that and I can’t recall her name, a choreographer from Mexico City is responsible for the “pineapple dance” and many others considered authentic in Mexico. Just a comment.

[…] our first visit in May 2013. Time flies when you’re having fun and it took the current Theft of a cultural kind controversy to motivate us to hit the long and winding road up into the Mixe. To reach our our […]

[…] also holds workshops, lectures, expo-ventas (exposition and sales), and has provided a platform for issues of importance to textile artists, especially from the indigenous communities of the state of […]